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Schedule*Master Version 1.1 User's Guide
Table Of Contents
Disclaimer ............................................ 1
Overview .............................................. 2
System Requirements .............................. 2
Installation Instructions ............................. 3
Initial Setup ......................................... 4
Setup Categories ................................. 4
Setup People ..................................... 6
Working With Dates .................................... 7
Adding Records ................................... 8
Add Schedule Records ........................ 8
Add Todo Records ............................ 9
Editing Records .................................. 9
Moving A Record .................................. 10
Deleting A Record ................................ 10
Repeating Records ................................ 11
Repeating Records Using The Buffer ............... 12
Closing A Todo Record ............................ 12
Attaching / Viewing A Note ....................... 13
Printing A Day's Events .......................... 13
'Go To' Function ................................. 13
Working With The Options Menu ......................... 14
Extended Search .................................. 14
Reports .......................................... 17
Daily Summary ............................... 17
Weekly Schedule ............................. 17
Monthly Schedule ............................ 17
System Statistics ........................... 18
Utilities ........................................ 19
Edit Categories/People ...................... 4,6
Change Todo Count ........................... 19
Show Closed Todo's .......................... 19
Change Todo Sort ............................ 19
Export Database ............................. 20
Mass Delete ................................. 21
Help ............................................. 22
Quit ............................................. 22
DOS Shell ........................................ 22
Exit ............................................. 22
Schedule*Master Version 1.1 User's Guide
Table Of Contents - Continued
Miscellaneous Information ............................ 23
Command-Line Parameters ......................... 23
Popup Calendar .................................. 23
Appendix 1 Miscellaneous Editing Keys ................ 24
Appendix 2 Printer Driver ............................ 25
Appendix 3 Using A Mouse ............................. 26
Appendix 4 The Compress Program ...................... 27
Disclaimer
The author makes no representations or warranties with respect to
the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any implied
warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular
purpose. Further, the author reserves the right to revise this
publication and make changes to the content hereof without
obligation of the author to notify any person or organization of
such revision or changes.
Overview
Schedule*Master is an easy-to-use yet powerful system to manage
your daily schedule and to do list. Unlike other systems that
can take weeks to master you'll find that using all that
Schedule*Master has to offer takes no time at all.
Schedule*Master was designed to track the two types of events
that most people need to remember: Schedule and ToDo items.
Schedule records are items that occur on a specific date and have
a definite start and end time. ToDo records are items that must
be completed on a specific date but not at a certain time, and
will continue to show up every day after their due date until you
mark them as being completed - you won't forget them simply
because the date has slipped.
Major features of Schedule*Master are :
. Each appointment and ToDo record can have a 'note' attached
to it with further information about the item. The note
record can be up to 5 lines of 50 characters each.
. Up to 4000 records (and 4000 notes) can be stored in the
database.
. There are extensive searching capabilities available
to allow you to find information once you have entered it.
. If you have a mouse, and your mouse software is loaded, it
will be detected automatically. Details of how to use the
mouse are listed in the 'Using A Mouse' section of this
document (Appendix 3).
Please take a few minutes to read this document before you begin
using Schedule*Master. The time you spend now will help you use
the program more efficiently and will be time well-spent.
System Requirements
Schedule*Master requires an IBM PC/XT,AT,PS/2 or any other 100%
IBM compatible computer with at least 380K free memory and a CGA
monitor (color recommended). A hard disk is not really
necessary, however it is highly recommended. Microsoft
compatible mice are supported but not required.
Installation Instructions
Floppy-Based Systems
Although it is highly recommended that you run Schedule*Master
from a hard drive it is possible to run it on a floppy disk based
system. Simply copy the files on the distribution diskette to a
blank, formatted diskette. The copied diskette is what you will
use to run Schedule*Master from - never use the original! In
addition it is recommended that you make a backup copy of the
distribution diskette and store it in a safe place, just in case
something should happen to the original.
Hard-Disk Based Systems
Make a sub-directory on your hard drive called SMASTER and copy
the files from the distribution diskette to this new sub
directory. As with floppy-based systems it is recommended that
you make a copy of the distribution diskette and store it in a
safe place, just in case something should happen to the original.
If you are unsure of how to copy diskettes or create sub
directories please refer to your DOS manual for help.
Main Screen / Initial Setup
To execute Schedule*Master on a hard disk based system :
Use the change directory (CD) command to move to the SMASTER
directory and type SM and press ENTER.
On a floppy-based system insert the Schedule*Master diskette into
the currently logged diskette drive, type SM and press ENTER.
The first screen you will see upon executing Schedule*Master is
the copyright notice screen. Press the 'Enter' key to continue.
The next screen to be displayed is the main screen or main menu
and is your primary means of navigating the program. It
consists of a calendar display in the center left-hand side
of the screen showing the current month's calendar with the
current date hi-lighted (the current date will also have an
asterisk * next to it). On the right-hand side of the screen is
a window displaying some of the options available. At the bottom
of the screen, on the 25th line, is a list of the PF keys that
are available as well as the current time and the status of the
copy buffer (more on this later). At the top of the screen, on
the first line, is a list of the menu items available when you
activate the top options menu.
The first time you use Schedule*Master you must establish
categories to use when entering Schedule and ToDo records.
These categories make performing searches a lot easier, as
they are used as an index into the file. You also need to
establish a list of people to help further define your records
and also make searching easier. Schedule*Master allows you to
define 40 categories and 40 people to schedule appointments
for. To accomplish this perform the following steps.
Setup Categories
1 - Press the F10 key to activate the top menu. You will
notice that the 'Extended Search' option is now hi-lited.
Use your right-arrow key to hi-lite the 'Utilities' option
and press your ENTER key.
2 - This activates a sub-menu of various options that we will
explore later - right now we're interested in 'Edit
Categories' and 'Edit People'. Since 'Edit Categories'
is currently hi-lited press 'Enter'. Two windows will
appear. One window (on the left) is where you
will edit the categories and is called the edit window, the
other window lists what the current definitions are (right
now they will all say 'Open....').
Setup Categories - Continued
3 - The first category is hi-lited white on red (or white on
black for monochrome or LCD screens). Pressing ENTER will
bring the hi-lited category into the edit window so that
you can change it. You can also use your arrow keys to move
the hi-lite bar up or down to choose other items in the
list. Move the hi-lite bar back to the top and press 'ENTER'
to bring that category into the edit window. Use your
'BACKSPACE' key to erase the 'Open....' and replace it with
your own category definition. When you press ENTER the
categories list will be redisplayed and you will see your
definition is now in place.
4 - You can repeat step 3 for each of the categories (you may
define up to 40) and press 'ESC' when finished.
Setup People
After you have pressed the 'ESC' use your down arrow key to
hi-lite the 'Edit People' option and press ENTER.
1 - As when editing the categories, two windows will appear,
one that allows you to edit the people list and one that
displays what the current people are (right now they
will all say 'Open....').
2 - The first item is hi-lited white on red (or white on black
for monochrome or LCD screens). Pressing ENTER will bring
the hi-lited item into the edit window so that you can
change it . You can also use your arrow keys to move the hi-
lite bar up or down to chose other items in the list. Move
the hi-lite bar back to the top and press ENTER
to bring that person into the edit window. Use your BACK
SPACE key to erase the 'Open....' and replace it with your
own person definition. When you press ENTER the list will
be redisplayed and you will see your definition is now in
place.
3 - You can repeat step 2 for each of the people (you may define
up to 40) and press ESC when finished.
After you press 'ESC' the pull-down menu is still displayed.
Press 'ESC' twice now to return to the main menu.
Please take a few minutes to think about the categories and
people you wish to setup. This is very important because once
they are established they should not be changed, as when a
category or person definition is changed all records pertaining
to that item will also reflect the new definition. If you are
going to change an item's definition you should use the 'Mass
Delete' option (described later in this guide) to delete all
references to the item being changed prior to making the change.
A little forethought now will save some confusion later.
Now that you have setup your categories and people list you can
begin using the program. There are other set-up options that are
available, however to describe all of them now might just confuse
the issue - we'll discuss them as they become pertinent.
Working With Dates
Most of the time you spend using Schedule*Master will be working
with specific dates - adding, changing, repeating, moving records
etc. You can select a date to work with from the main menu by
using your cursor keys to move the hi-lited box around on the
calendar display (notice how the current date is hi-lited
automatically when you first begin using Schedule*Master). You
can use the 'Page Up' key to move to the previous month, while
the 'Page Down' key will move the next month. If you wish to
add a record for a prior or upcoming year, or if you just want
to see another year's calendar, use your plus and minus keys.
The plus key moves you ahead one year, the minus key moves you
back one year. If you wish to go directly to a specific month
and year press 'G'. A window will appear asking you for the
month and year you wish to display. Enter the date in the
MM/YYYY format and press 'Enter'. That month's calendar will
be displayed and you can continue from there. If you are
moving around the months and years and want to quickly return to
the current date just press the 'F2' key. To select a date
simply press the 'Enter' key when the date you wish to work with
is hi-lited.
New to version 1.1 is the 'Weekly Graph' display. While viewing
the main menu press the 'W' key. A window will appear asking who
you wish to report on. Select a person by positioning the hi-
lite bar over a name and pressing 'Enter' (the last item in the
list is 'All' and will show all records). After selecting a
person a graph will appear for the week in which a date is hi-
lited showing the times that are taken by appointments and the
times that are free.
When you have selected a day to work with Schedule*Master will
perform a search for all records pertaining to that date and
display them for you. You can have up to 100 records for each
day in any combination of Schedule or ToDo records and they
will be displayed 20 at a time. Schedule records will be
displayed white on blue, while ToDo records will be white on
green. The first record will be hi-lited black on white, or if
no records exist for this date then only a white 'bar' will be
displayed. You can use your arrow keys to move the hi-lite bar
up and down the screen, while the 'Page Up' and 'Page Down' keys
will move to the next screen of records (assuming there are more
than 20 records for that date).
While you are viewing a day's events you can use your left arrow
key or your '-' key to move to the prior day, the right arrow key
or your '+' key to move to the next day. If you have used
the arrow keys to move around to different dates, and want to
quickly return to the current date, simply press 'F2'. The
following sections explain the options available while working
with a selected date.
Adding Records
As explained above there are 2 basic types of records you can
keep track of: schedule records and ToDo records. To add either
type of record you must first select a day for which to add the
record. For a schedule record you need to select the day the
appointment is for a ToDo record you need to select the date the
item is due to be completed.
Add Schedule Records
To add a Schedule record press the 'A' key after you have select
ed a date to work with. A window will display in which you can
enter the information pertaining to an appointment.
Enter the requested information in the following manner :
Start Time / End Time - These fields are mandatory. Enter any
valid starting time, Schedule*Master will display an error
message if you enter either the hours or minutes incorrectly
(you must not use military time or try something like 12:87).
AM/PM Designator - This field immediately follows both the Start
Time and the End Time fields. After you have entered the hours
and minutes you will be placed in this field. You must enter
either 'A' for am or 'P' for pm - no other characters will be
accepted.
Category - After you have entered the Start Time and End Time the
category field must be entered. A selection window will appear
showing all of your defined categories. You can select one by
using your cursor keys to position the hi-lite bar over the
desired category and pressing 'Enter'. You can also type the
first letter of a category name and the first item to match that
character will be hi-lited.
Who - As with the Category field a selection window will display
and allow you to select a person to make this appointment for.
Again, use your cursor keys to select an appropriate person or
type the first letter of the desired item to move the hi-lite bar
to that item.
Text - This is where you describe what this appointment is for -
this field is not mandatory, you don't have to put any thing in
here. You can type anything you wish up to 45 characters.
After you have entered all of the information for this record and
press your 'Enter' key the window will disappear, and the daily
records display shown again with your appointment added. See the
appendix 'Miscellaneous Editing Keys' for additional information.
Add ToDo Records
To add a ToDo record press 'T' after you have selected date to
work with. A window will display in which you can enter the
information pertaining to a ToDo record. You will notice that
the record is given a 'Due Date' that is equal to the currently
displayed date and that the closed date is 0/0/0
(obviously since this record hasn't been completed yet!). Enter
the requested information in the following manner :
Category - After you have entered the Start Time and End Time the
category field must be entered. A selection window will appear
showing all of your defined categories. You can select one by
using your cursor keys to position the hi-lite bar over the
desired category and pressing 'Enter'. You can also type the
first letter of a category name and the first item to match that
character will be hi-lited.
Who - As with the Category field a selection window will display
and allow you to select a person to make this appointment for.
Again, use your cursor keys to select an appropriate person or
type the first letter of the desired item to move the hi-lite bar
to that item.
Priority - This field allows you to prioritize ToDo records by
their level of importance. You must enter a number between 0 and
9 with 0 being the highest priority (and the default if you
simply press 'Enter' without entering anything into this field)
and 9 being the lowest priority.
Text - This is where you describe what this appointment is for -
this field is not mandatory, you don't have to put any thing in
here. You can type anything you wish up to 45 characters.
After you have entered all of the information for this record and
pressed your 'Enter' key the window will disappear, and the daily
records display shown again with your ToDo record added. See the
appendix 'Miscellaneous Editing Keys' for additional information.
Editing Records
You can edit a ToDo or an Schedule record at any time by first
selecting a day to work with, hi-liting the desired record by
using the up/down arrow keys to position the hi-lite bar, and
pressing 'Enter'. The appropriate window will appear with the
fields already filled in. You can use the 'Tab' keys or up/down
arrow keys in the same manner as when you entered the information
initially. When you having finished editing the record press
either the 'CTRL+ENTER' keys simultaneously or press 'ENTER'
after editing the TEXT filed and the record will be replaced and
redisplayed on the screen. You can press the 'ESC' to abort the
edit - the record will remain unchanged.
Moving A Record
In case you need to postpone a Schedule or ToDo record you can
use the move option. To move a record to another date use the
cursor keys to hi-lite the desired record and press 'M'. An
input window will appear requesting the date you wish to move the
record to. Enter the date in MM/DD/YYYY format. You will
receive an error message if you try to enter a date
incorrectly. After entering the desired date press 'Enter' and
the record will be moved to that date. The records for the
currently selected day will be redisplayed - the record you
moved will no longer appear.
Deleting A Record
Sometimes you'll add a record for the wrong date, an appointment
will be canceled, or a task will no longer need to be performed.
You can remove these records completely by hi-liting the desired
record and pressing the 'Delete' key. You will then be asked to
confirm that you wish to delete this record. If you enter 'Y'
the record will be deleted. If you enter 'N' or just press 'Esc'
the record will not be deleted. Be careful about which records
you delete - you can't 'un-delete' them afterwards! You can
delete from either the daily display or the extended search
display. The only difference is that the daily display will be
updated after a delete operation is performed and you will be
able to see that the record has been deleted. When you delete
from the extended search display the word 'Deleted' will appear
in the Category field. The next time you perform a search the
record will not appear. Remember that deleted records are not
really deleted, they are simply flagged as deleted and ignored by
Schedule*Master. To reclaim the space that the deleted records
are using the files you must run the compress program. See
Appendix 4 for instructions on running the delete.
Repeating Records
If you want to repeat a record every day, week, month, etc.
simply hi-lite the desired record and press 'R'. A menu will
appear with the repeat options displayed. Use the cursor keys to
select the desired interval and press 'Enter'. A window will
appear asking to select the desired date to stop the repeating.
Enter the date in MM/DD/YYYY format. As always you must enter a
valid date or Schedule*Master will display an error message and
allow you to reenter the offending data. When you have entered
the date correctly the hi-lited record will be repeated at your
desired interval up to and including the stop date. As always,
pressing 'Esc' will abort the operation. The interval options
are :
Daily Repeat this event every day until the stop
date.
Weekly Repeat this event every week, on the same day,
until the stop date.
Bi-weekly Repeat this event every 2 weeks, on the same
day until the stop date.
Monthly Repeat this event every month, on the same day
of the month, until the stop date.
Annually Repeat this event every year, on the same date,
until the stop date.
Every X Days Repeat this event every x number of days until
the stop date. You'll be prompted to enter x.
Repeating Records Using The Buffer
Sometimes you may want to repeat a Schedule or ToDo record in a
way that is not provided using the 'R' option described above.
For example, maybe you have a meeting scheduled on the first
Monday of every month. Schedule*Master provides a way to handle
these occasions by using a buffer. To repeat a record for the
first Monday of every month, for example, perform the following
steps :
1 - Enter the record on the first Monday you wish the
appointment to appear.
2 - Hi-lite the appointment and press 'B'.
3 - Press 'Esc' to return to the main menu or calendar
display. Notice that in the lower right-hand corner
a message is displayed 'Buffer is active'. The record
has been copied into the buffer and you can now begin
the process of 'dropping' it into the dates you want
it to appear.
4 - Use the cursor keys to move the hi-lite box around to
next date you wish the record to appear.
5 - Press 'B' and the record will be added to that date.
6 - Continue steps 4 and 5 as many times as needed.
The record will remain in the buffer until you either place
another record in the buffer, or press 'C' from the main menu
(the buffer clear command). If you press 'C' from the main menu
then the message in the lower right-hand portion of the screen
will read 'Buffer is inactive'.
Closing A ToDo Record
ToDo records will continue to display past their due date until
you close them. This feature makes it impossible to forget about
a ToDo item simply because the due date has slipped. To close
the record use the cursor keys to hi-lite the desired record and
press 'C'. If you do not have a ToDo record hi-lited when you
press 'C' you will hear a short 'beep' indicating that you have
made an incorrect choice. As long as you have a ToDo record
hi-lited the record will be updated showing today's date for
the closed date.
Attaching A Note To A Record
Viewing A Note
Each type of record can have a note associated with it. To add a
note to a record use the arrow keys to position the hi-lite bar
over the record you wish to attach the note to and press 'N'. A
note window will appear giving you 5 lines of 50 characters each
in which to enter your note. You can type anything you wish
within the confines of this window. To save the note you can
either press 'Enter' while on the last line of the note or press
'CTRL+Enter' anywhere. To abort this note record and abandon any
changes you can press the 'Esc' key. Once a note is attached to
a record you will notice an asterisk '*' directly preceding the
record's text field when displaying a day's events. To view
and/or change the attached note simply hi-lite the record and
press 'N'. The note will appear and you can edit any line
you wish. To save the changes press 'Enter' on the last line of
the note or 'CTRL+Enter' anywhere.
Printing A Day's Events
You can print a day's records by pressing 'P' while the records
are being displayed. If you want to print the records and any
associated notes you can do so by pressing 'ALT+P'. Either
report is printed immediately, if the printer is online and
ready. If there is an error while printing, or the printer is
not ready when you request a print-out an error message will be
displayed.
'Go To' Function
While viewing a day's records you can move directly to a specific
date by pressing the 'G' key. A window will appear asking you
for the date you wish to move to. Enter the date in the
MM/DD/YYYY format and press 'ENTER'. You will be taken directly
to that date.
Working With The Options Menu
The Options Menu is activated from the main menu (or calendar
display) by pressing either 'F10' or the 'slash' key '/'. You'll
notice that after pressing one of these keys that the word
'Extended Search' is now hi-lited. You can use your left and
right arrow keys to hi-lite any of the other options and press
'Enter'
to activate their associated sub-menu's. The Options Menu
choices are going to be described from left to right starting the
'Extended Search' option.
Extended Search
Pressing 'Enter' while 'Extended Search' is hi-lited causes a
sub-menu to appear showing the different types of searches
you can perform. The 3 types are Schedule, ToDo and Both.
Use your cursor keys to hi-lite the type of search you wish
to perform and press 'Enter'. If you wish to search for only
Schedule or only ToDo records then choose those items,
otherwise select Both to search for all types of records. A
window will appear requesting additional information so that you
may further define your search criteria. You can enter the fields
in the following manner :
Start Date / End Date - These fields allow you to limit your
search to records that fall within a specific time frame. You
are not required to enter these fields, however using them will
significantly speed up the searching process, as these are key
fields. If you use them you must enter the dates in MM/DD/YYYY
format. If you choose not to use these fields then just press
'Enter' repeatedly until the cursor is in the Category field or
press the down arrow key to avoid pressing 'Enter' a few times.
Category - This allows you to search for records that pertain
only to a specific category. Use the up/down arrow keys to
position the hi-lite bar over the category you wish to search
for. If you wish to include all categories in this search then
position the hi-lite bar on the last item in the list (All).
Who - This allows you to search for records that pertain only to
a specific person. Use the up/down arrow keys to position the
hi-lite bar over the person you wish to search for. If you wish
to include all people in this search then position the hi-lite
bar on the last item in the list (All).
Extended Search - Continued
Text - You can also search for records based on what was entered
in the text field. The searches are not case-sensitive and the
entire field will be examined. For example, if you had a
schedule record with a text field that read 'Meet Bob for lunch',
you could find that record by simply entering 'Bob' in the text
field of the search window. Schedule*Master would examine
each record's text field to see if the word 'Bob' existed
anywhere in the field, and if it did it would be displayed.
As you might have guessed this is not the fastest search you
can perform - text fields are not indexed so these types of
searches are slower than others, however it's a nice feature to
have when you need it.
If you have chosen to search for ToDo records only an additional
field will be available called :
Open/Closed/All (O,C,A) - If you wish to search only for open
ToDo record then enter 'O'. To search for only closed records
enter 'C'. To search for all records enter either 'A' or simply
leave the field blank.
After you have entered the desired search criteria you can
perform the search by either pressing 'Enter' while in the
TEXT field or by pressing 'CTRL+Enter'. The database will be
searched and any records matching your criteria will be
displayed. Schedule*Master will display the results of the
search in much the same manner as when you display a single
day's activities - 20 per page with ToDo items hi-lited in
green. Only the first 100 records matching your search
criteria will be displayed at a time, you can use 'Page Up'
and 'Page Down' to scroll through them. When you press 'Esc'
to return to the search submenu you will be asked if you wish
to continue searching (note you will only be asked this if the
end of the database has not yet been reached). Pressing 'Y'
will then display the next 100 (or less) records that match
your search criteria.
While the search results are being displayed you can perform the
following functions :
Edit - Hi-lite the record you wish to edit and press 'Enter'. An
edit window will be opened, just as when you first entered the
record. You can change any of the fields and press 'CTRL+Enter'
(or press 'Enter' on the TEXT line) to save the changes. If you
press 'Esc' the record will remain unchanged.
Print - Just as when working with a specific date you can press
'P' to print the results of this search, or 'ALT+P' to print the
records and any associated notes that may be attached to the
records.
Extended Search - Continued
Create/Edit Notes - You can either create a note or edit an
existing note by hi-liting the desired record and pressing 'N'.
If a note already exists for this record it will be displayed and
you can make changes to it as needed. If no note exists already
then the note lines will be blank and you can create a new note
at this time. Pressing 'Enter' on the last line of the note or
pressing 'CTRL+Enter' at any time will store any of your changes
to the note. If you press 'Esc' any changes to the note will be
abandoned.
Delete - Hi-lite the record to be deleted and press the 'Delete'
key. A window will appear asking you to confirm the delete.
Enter 'Y' to delete the record or 'N' (or ESC) to cancel the
delete. Unlike the daily display the screen will not be updated
to show you that the record has been deleted. It will simply say
'Deleted' in the category field, however it will not appear the
next time you perform a search.
To exit the search function press the 'Esc' key. As mentioned
above, if you haven't reached the end of the database yet you
will be asked if you wish to continue the search. At this time
the Extended Search sub-menu is still available. You can either
perform another search, press 'Esc' to select another function
from the Options Menu or press 'Esc' twice to return to the main
menu.
Reports
Selecting the Reports option from the Options Menu causes a sub
menu of report types to be displayed. The reports available
are:
Daily Summary - Pressing 'Enter' while this option is hi-lited
will cause a window to appear requesting a date for the report.
You can enter any date in MM/DD/YYYY format, or you may simply
press 'CTRL+Enter' to accept the date that is currently hi-lited
on the calendar display. Next you will be asked to select a
report type : Schedule, ToDo or Both. Selecting Schedule will
produce a report showing only appointments, selecting ToDo will
cause only ToDo records and their associated notes (if any) to be
printed, and obviously choosing Both will produce both
reports. After selecting a report type you must then select a
person whose records you wish to print. As usual you may use
your cursor keys to select a desired person from the list by
pressing 'Enter' while that person's name is hi-lited. If you
wish to produce a report for everyone then select the final
option on the list - 'All'.
Weekly Schedule - Selecting this option creates a report
containing all records for a specified week. The week reported
on will be the week in which a date is currently hi-lited. For
example, if you have Wednesday, October 24,1990 hi-lited and
print a weekly report, the report will consist of October 21 -
October 27. When you first select this option you will be asked
who you wish to report for. As in the Daily Summary report just
use the cursor keys to hi-lite the desired person and press
'Enter' to make your selection. If you wish to produce a report
for every one then select the final option on the list -
'All'. After selecting a person you will be asked if you
wish to include outstanding ToDo records in the report.
Normally only ToDo records due during the week being reported
on will be printed. If you enter 'Y' here the report will
also include any ToDo records that were outstanding as of the
beginning of the week.
Monthly Schedule - Selecting this option will cause a report to
be printed for the month in which a date is currently hi-lited.
As in the Weekly Schedule you will be asked for a person to print
the report for. You can select an individual or print all re
cords by selecting the last item in the list - 'All'. After
selecting a person you will be asked if you wish to include
outstanding ToDo records in the report. Normally only ToDo
records due during the month being reported on will be printed.
If you enter 'Y' here the report will also include any ToDo
records that were outstanding as of the beginning of the month.
Reports - Continued
System Statistics - Select this option and a window will appear
containing various information about the records contained in the
database. The window is really divided into two sections - the
top half contains information about Schedule and ToDo records and
the bottom half contains information about notes attached to
records. You can interpret the information in the following
manner :
Number of records in file - This tells you the total number
of records in the database. This includes Schedule records
and ToDo records. This also includes any deleted records.
Number of deleted records in file - This tells you that of the
the number of records in the database, the number of records
listed are flagged as being deleted. Remember that
Schedule*Master will reuse any space created by deleting
records, however if you delete 10 records and only add 5
after the delete then you will still have 5 listed as being
deleted.
Number of records that can be added.
The statistics for the note records are the same as listed above
and therefore are not repeated here.
Note that this report is only available for viewing. If you wish
to print this information you can use the 'Print Scrn' key to
dump the entire screen to the printer.
Utilities
Selecting the Utilities option from the options menu will cause
another sub-menu of options to appear. You can use your cursor
keys to move the hi-lite bar to the desired option and press
'Enter' to select it. The options available are described
below:
Edit Categories/Edit People - These options are explained in the
main screen / initial setup section of this manual. For the sake
of saving space please refer to that section for information on
these two options.
Change ToDo Count - By default, only ToDo records that have not
yet been completed and are due within the next 15 days are shown
whenever you select a date to work with. Selecting this option
will cause a window to appear in which you can enter the number
of days ahead of time you wish a ToDo record to appear. Any
number between 0 and 999 can be entered. If you don't wish to
change the number displayed here then just press 'Esc' and no
changes will be made. Keep in mind that the number here not only
affects the way records are displayed when you choose a date to
work with - it will also affect any reports that are printed as
well, since the search that Schedule*Master performs will include
ToDo records only due within the number of days you've specified
here.
Show Closed ToDo's:xxx - When you choose a date to work with you
will see, by default, all ToDo records, whether they are closed
or open. If you press 'Enter' while this option is hi-lited the
xxx will change from 'No' to 'Yes', and will allow you to
determine whether or not you wish to have closed ToDo records
displayed. If you choose 'No' then the only way you will be able
to see closed ToDo records is by using the 'Extended Search'
option described elsewhere. Selecting 'Yes' will show all ToDo
records.
Change ToDo Sort - By default, when you pick a date to work with
you will see all Schedule records first, followed by all out
standing ToDo records sorted by due date. If you press 'Enter'
here a sub-menu will appear which will allow you alter the sort
by date or priority. You select a sort parameter by using the
cursor keys to hi-lite the desired option and pressing 'Enter'.
If you choose 'Priority' then all ToDo records will always be
sorted by priority, not by date. Schedule records will continue
to be sorted by date.
Utilities - Continued
Export Database - Selecting this option will cause the entire
database to be 'dumped' to a file called SMEXPORT.PRN. The file
will be created as an ASCII comma-delimited file that you could
then import into any program that has an ASCII import feature
(most popular spreadsheet and database products do). If
SMEXPORT.PRN already exists you will be asked if you wish to
replace it. If you enter 'N' or press 'Esc' the export will be
canceled, pressing 'Y' causes the file to be overwritten. If the
file does not exist yet it will be created. While the export
is being performed a message window will be displayed stating
that the export is in progress. When the process is complete
you will be asked to press any key to continue.
The file is formatted with the following fields, in the order
they are listed :
Record Type - This will be either "Schedule","Open ToDo", or
"Closed ToDo".
Due Date - For ToDo records - the date the item is to
completed by. For Schedule records this is the date of
the appointment.
Start Time - For ToDo records this will be 11:59 and has
no meaning. For Schedule records this is the start time
of the appointment.
End Date - For ToDo records - the date the item was
actually completed. For Schedule records this has no
meaning.
End Time - For Schedule records - the ending time of the
appointment. For ToDo records this field is meaningless.
Category - The category of the record.
Who - The person the record is for.
Text - The text field of the record.
Mass Delete
Using this option will allow you delete a large group of records
at one time. This could be used at the end of a calendar year to
clean up the database eliminating all of the prior year's
records. It can also be used eliminate all the records
pertaining to a specific category or person so that you could
then change that category or person to something else.
When you select this option you will be prompted to enter a date
range for this delete operation. All records between these two
dates will be affected. Enter the dates in MM/DD/YYYY format -
if you enter any of the fields incorrectly you will be prompted
to correct them. After entering the dates you will be asked to
choose a person whose records you wish to delete. Use the cursor
keys to move the hi-lite bar to the desired person and press
'Enter'. As in searching, if you wish to include all records
then select the last option in the list 'All'. After you have
selected a person another window will appear asking you for a
category. Choose this field in the same manner as the person
field (the last item in the list will be 'All'). After you have
selected a category a final window will appear asking you to
confirm your delete request. Press 'Y' to continue the delete
after verifying the fields you've entered. If you press 'N' or
'Esc' the delete will be aborted. If you enter 'Y' then all of
the records meeting your criteria will be deleted.
Help
Choosing this option opens a sub-menu with only one selection
available 'About Schedule*Master'. Selecting this option simply
opens a window which displays the release of Schedule*Master that
you are currently running and a copyright notice. Press any key
from here to return to the options menu.
Quit
Selecting this option opens a sub-menu which allows you to exit
Schedule*Master in 2 different ways :
DOS Shell
Selecting this option will allow you to temporarily exit
Schedule*Master and return to a DOS prompt. You can now execute
any DOS commands you want, keeping in mind that Schedule*Master
is still in memory. When you wish to return to Schedule*Master
type 'EXIT' at the DOS prompt and press 'Enter'. You will be
returned exactly where you left - with the 'Quit' sub-menu
displayed.
Exit
Selecting this option will allow you to exit Schedule*Master
completely and return to a DOS prompt, or to a menuing system if
that's what you're using. This is the only way you should exit
Schedule*Master - do not press 'CTRL+Break' or 'CTRL+C' while in
Schedule*Master or you may suffer from data loss!
You may also exit Schedule*Master at any time by pressing
'ALT+X'. This exits Schedule*Master permanently, this is the
same as selecting 'Exit' from the 'Quit' menu.
Miscellaneous Information
This section describes the command-line parameters that can
control Schedule*Master's environment.
Command-Line Parameters
There are 2 options you can pass to Schedule*Master when you
first execute it. These options control snow-checking for CGA
color screens and the pointer used when viewing a day's records.
They may be used as follows :
Snow Checking - Some CGA color display adapters will produce
'snow' when executing Schedule*Master. This is due to the way
the program interacts with the screen. To eliminate this problem
execute Schedule*Master by typing 'SM S'. The 'S' parameter can
be in upper-case or lower-case.
Hi-Lite Bar Option - When you run Schedule*Master on PC/XT clones
or even on slower AT type machines you'll notice that the hi-lite
bar moves rather slowly when displaying a day's records. If this
is annoying to you then execute Schedule*Master by typing 'SM X'.
The 'X' parameter will change the hi-lite bar to a pointer on the
left-hand side of the screen when displaying a day's records or
when viewing the results of a search. Even if you have a faster
machine you may prefer this pointer to the hi-lite bar so the
choice is yours.
Either of the options, 'S' and 'X', can be entered in upper or
lower-case letters and do not need to be entered in any
particular order. If you are going to use both options,
however, make sure you leave a space between them - for example
'SM X S' or 'SM S X', etc.
Popup Calendar
Note that when you wish to move a record from one date to another
and when you repeat an event, you are asked to supply an end
date. Sometimes you don't know the end date 'of the top of your
head' and could use a calendar to help out. If you press 'F3' at
any time a small 'popup' calendar will be displayed. You can use
your 'Page Up', 'Page Down', '+' and '-' keys to alter the
calendar in the same manner as the main calendar display. Press
'Esc' to return to Schedule*Master.
Appendix 1
Miscellaneous Editing Keys
When you are entering or changing information in either Schedule
or ToDo records keep the following in mind :
1) You can use the 'Esc' key at any time to abort this
operation - the record will not be added.
2) You can use the 'Tab' key or the up/down arrow keys to
move between fields that are not mandatory. When you
adding the AM/PM designator or selecting a category or
a person from the list of people you can not use the
tab keys to leave the selection list - you must select
a category/person or press 'Esc' to abort the function.
3) When editing a text field you can use the following
short-cut keys :
HOME - moves to beginning of field
END - moves to end of field
CTRL+Right/Left arrow - moves one word foreword or
backwards
Appendix 2
Printer Driver
The file SMDRIVER.DAT contains the information needed by
Schedule*Master to create printed reports. This file has been
set up with the codes needed by the IBM ProPrinter and
compatibles. These codes should also work with EPSON and
EPSON compatible printers, however I have not tested them
with those printers simply because I do not have access to
them. You can modify the driver file with any text editor or
any word processor that will allow you to edit and save ASCII
files. The layout of the file follows. Please make sure you
make a backup copy of SMDRIVER.DAT before you make any
modifications to it!
Line 1 : Printer reset
Line 2 : Bold On
Line 3 : Bold Off
Line 4 : Underline On
Line 5 : Underline Off
Line 6 : Double Wide On
Line 7 : Double Wide Off
Line 8 : Condensed On
Line 9 : Condensed Off
All codes are to be entered in decimal notation - not in hex. All
lines must contain six numbers separated by one space each. If
the code you are entering does not require 6 numbers then use 99
for the remaining numbers.
Appendix 3 - Using A Mouse
If you have a Microsoft compatible mouse attached to your system,
and the appropriate driver software loaded, it will be detected
automatically. You will be able to use your mouse much in the
same manner as the cursor keys. The left button of the mouse
will function the same as your ENTER key. The right button will
function the same as your ESC key. When you are viewing the main
calendar display, the right button will also cause the top menu
to activate. After pressing the button a square "mouse cursor"
will appear. Move the mouse cursor to the option you wish to
perform and press the left button. If the item selected has a
pull-down menu it will appear,and you can select one of the pull
down options in the same manner. Pressing the right button twice
from a pull-down menu will reactivate the calendar display. If
no pull-down menu is active then you'll only need to press the
right button once.
Appendix 4 - The Compress Program
To run the compress program perform the following steps :
1 - Change to the Schedule*Master directory (usually \SMASTER).
2 - Type 'Compress' and press ENTER (do not include the quotes).
3 - If you have deleted records in the files then the compress
program will run and will reclaim any space being used by
deleted records. If you have no deleted records in the files
then you will receive a message informing you of this and the
compress program will not run.